The Weeknd Covers ‘Billboard’ Magazine

After The Weeknd’s mixtape trilogy rocketed him to notoriety, the artist wasn’t overeager to sign with a label. In fact, he made the industry work for it. “I think from his perspective it was a chess game,” Republic A&R executive Nate Albert tells Billboard. Tesfaye is with Republic now, but back then, Albert had to chase him down on his home turf of Toronto, while he initially showed little interest in signing. Adds Albert: “The culture has come to him.”